Jane Eyre
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If you've read both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights - Rochester or Heathcliff?
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Jessica
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Jan 05, 2014 08:16PM
Mr. Rochester without a doubt. Heathcliff was an abusive and obsessed character. Mr. Rochester had more redeemable qualities, even though he was still far from perfect.
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Rochester, any time.He was never abusive toward Jane, his staff or anyone else. He held no malice towards his mentally ill wife, whom as you may recall, was pressented to him as a suitable life partner.
On the other hand, I never understood what Heathcliff's attraction was. He was moody, dark, abusive and an overall nasty. I would ran a million miles...
Wow-great discussion! I, too, vote for Rochester. True, he had flaws, but he wasn't a obsessed, violent neurotic like Heathcliff. And did you know that Rochester was the inspiration for Rhett Butler?
Do we really need to ask this question? That's like asking "Miracle Whip or Mayonnaise?"! ROCHESTER!!
Rochester, my one and only!
Heathcliff, passionate and obsessed. Rochester seems like an arrogant jerk to me.
Rochester, because even though he was mean at first he never hurt Jane the way Heathcliff hurt Catherine.
Atheena wrote: "Rochester, because even though he was mean at first he never hurt Jane the way Heathcliff hurt Catherine."
She hurt him, more like.
She hurt him, more like.
Brooke wrote: "Atheena wrote: "Rochester, because even though he was mean at first he never hurt Jane the way Heathcliff hurt Catherine."She hurt him, more like."
She did hurt him. But Jane hurt Rochester too but Rochester did not go hurting Jane.
Heathcliff was a sadistic rapist and Rochester was an arrogant asshole who kept his first wife in the attic. And I have friends complain about how hard it is to find a decent guy THESE days!
Heathcliff hands down! It used to be Rochester but after recently reading Wide Sargasso Sea (I know its a different book by a different writer) it gave me a whole new perspective of Rochester and his wife.
Today,Heathclffe would be diagnosed as a psychopath or sociopath. Such people can be shallow con merchants or fascinating complex characters. They can have great passions for another (Bonnie & Clyde; Ma Barker & her son). Outside any such passion psychopaths are ruthless and lack empathy for others.Repeatedly, Heathcliffe expresses his contempt for others except for Catherine and Ellen, the only two people he has tender feelings toward.
Emily Bronte's analysis of his character is the best portrayal of a magnetic, manipulative, clever psychopath (fictional or non-fictional) I have ever read.
This is just one element of the brilliance of this novel. It begs the question - did Emily observe a similar person in her life? It is difficult to believe
she could portray this type of psychopath purely out of imagination.
Rochester, definitely. Heathcliff was cruel and self-centered. Rochester was not only compassionate toward his wife, but also took responsibility for his daughter, even though his emotional attachment to her was not so strong. He was unselfish toward Jane, too. It isn't even close. Even without a comparison, I wouldn't choose Heathcliff.
☯Emily has reviews on Booklikes wrote: "Hindley is certainly despicable and unattractive. I felt sympathetic towards Heathcliff until he used and abused Isabella, Hareton, and young Catherine."Yes, but he lacked compassion for the suffering or unhappiness of others, so I could never feel much sorrow for his own unhappiness.
I responded to the wrong person. The placement of the Reply link is confusing. I meant to respond to Brooke.
I would choose Rochester.He is more tender than Heathcliff.He is very passionate and less violent than him.No matter how much he loved Cathrine he still was evil.
Rochester should win this easily. I can't think of one redeeming quality of Heathcliff except perhaps that he didn't quite have the energy to ruin Hareton and Cathy's lives before he finally did the right thing and died!Heathcliff was a skulking little spider of a man, catching every character in his web of vindictive destruction. Rochester was an angry man trapped in an ill advised marriage to a mad woman. Both had their faults, but Heathcliff was beyond redemption. He was the source of much of the evil in Wuthering Heights, whereas Rochester was more the victim in Jane Eyre.
On the plus side, I do like Kate Bush's song about Heathcliff, so there's one thing good about him!
Well I wouldn't want a man like Heathcliff for a husband but I do feel he was misunderstood! He only became mean because he was so mistreated. His anger and jealousy matched Catherine's. He certainly is quite a powerful creation and so memorable. I named my cat after him. Have always had a total literary crush on Rochester!!!
absolutely Rochester!!!I hate Heathcliff!!!
rochester!!! forever!
Wordhorse wrote: "Wuthering Heights is a masterpiece but Heathcliff is a total psychopath.Rochester behaves badly too, of course. His treatment of Bertha Mason is unpardonable... etc. Also, dressing up as a gypsy ..."
omg, I totally forgot about that...yeah, that borders to Heathcliff's folly...
Going with the lesser of two evils Rochester. I didn't like Heathcliff when I read the novel in high school. Last time I read it, he has too many similarities with my abusive ex boyfriend, and I couldn't finish the book because I was still dealing with the PTSD of relationship. I have yet to pick WH up again even though I'm much more emotionally stable.I'm only 200 pages into my reread of JE. I'm not finding Rochester particularly swoon worthy either, but I'm not feeling very averse to him either.
My literary men of choice are Mr. Darcy, Gilbert Blythe, and Captain Wentworth.
Edited to add: I keep seeing this idea that Heathcliff was abusive because he was so mistreated. While this is true, it doesn't mean one person can change his way of thinking. That's what I thought of the man I dated. That if I treated him well, it'd help him. This is NOT a healthy way of thinking. Heathcliff and the man I dated needed help. They do not need people to exert more abusive power over.
I would have to say Heathcliff-my first tragic romance as a young teen!
Heathcliff behaved badly only to take revenge from Edgar,for marying Catherine, but anyway, I like Rochester.
Yo Heathcliff *hung* Isabella's dog and dug up Catherine's dead body just so he could look at her. There is nothing sad or romantic or SEXY about him, he was a complete jerk. I'd rather take the guy with a secret wife stuffed in the attic over an abusive, whiny, friend-zoned asshole any day.
uuuh this is a tough one! Rochester is one of my favourite characters ever, but Heathcliff's passion amazed me like no other fictional love story ever did.. so.. damn I don't know
Rochester, he had kindness and could be loving.
OKAY if your question is "ladies, if you had to choose as your lover, Heathcliff or Rochester?" OBVIOUSLY I'd choose Rochester. Heathcliff would hate me for not being Catherine and he would destroy me haha. But if your question is interpreted as "which character do you like better as a character?" then I'd have to think a little more.
I love Rochester because he's so different from every other love interest to the main character. He's got a sense of humor, is strong, and is just plain awesome in the way he wants to make Jane happy.
But I like the character Heathcliff just a little better. It might be because I just reread Wuthering Heights in class, but he's SUCH a crazy, unique character who's like a force of nature. He's so powerful and he practically drives the whole plot. His extreme passion, his cunning, how he can be persuasive if he wants to...he's just so interesting!
Yuck to both. Give me George Knightley.
Oh, I definitely love Heathcliff more than Rochester. Literary crushes don't have to make sense :PAs self-destructive and abusive as he is to the people around him, I'm more sympathetic to Heathcliff's plight. He was orphaned, lived on the streets, was abused all throughout his childhood, and was abandoned by the only person in the world who cared for him. Does that *justify* his actions? Absolutely not. But it does explain the extremity of emotion, and there is something to be admired in a person who will continue to love against the odds and beyond the grave, even in the face of adversity (most cruelly shown by the woman who loved him back just as ardently). Cathy was the only bit of light in his life, and she treated him horribly. Everybody treats each other horribly, really, and I find it fascinating watching this storm of miscommunication, misunderstanding, and raw emotion unfold reading the book again and again.
Definitely Rochester! Heathcliff is a jerk.
I really don't know how you can like Heathcliff ( well maybe at the beginning of the book I kind of liked him, but after that...) . He just brings me pity. I choose Mr. Rochester.
My IRL side saysRochester....but there is that thing about I AM Heathcliff...intense, co-dependent desire, identification with someone that all lines are blurred: now that makes a good story and a better fantasy.
i read both books and i liked them!! but i would choose Rochester without hesitation :D
I don't know about that one. Both turn out as rude men, and not really my favourite book characters, but I am probably going to go for Rochester, because I think he did love Jane Eyre a lot (I find the books sort of hard to read) and Heathcliff was always cruel and didn't seem to love Cathy in my head.
Rochester is a much 'nicer' and well-thought out character and wins hands-down[no pun intended] in the personality stakes. He is also in a far, far superior novel in my opinion.
Heathcliff was a selfish, angry and brutal man who was in love with a spoiled, childish selfish woman. The mean spirited jealousy of his character comes out in how he treats Catherine's child. If Jane had married someone else and had a child, Rochester would have treated that child kindly. I think if Heathcliff had been married to an insane woman like Rochester's wife he would have had no compunction in throwing her out a window.
um, neither, they are both messed up in so many ways. So, Harreton all the way!!!
oh my goodness, Heathcliff is a violent, sick psycopath. his 'love' is not love, it is possessiveness, insanity and very selfish.Rochester hands down!
Rochester. Heathcliff's the guy I dated when I was young and dumb.
Rochester was a far more complex and attractive character. I found Heathcliff to be rather boring!
Rochester! He's more flawed in a vulnerable, charming way.
Rochester for sure!!!! I do not even have to think about it.
I would pick Rochester because underneath he was a good and sensible man, but Heathcliff was really evil and disgusting.
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